The race to win the job to replace the ramp at the Dover Fire Department's Station 2 was initially a three-horse race. But George & Lynch in Dover was left all alone when two of the bidders dropped out.

By Antonio Prado, Staff Writer

Dover City Council awarded the contract to expand and replace the Dover Fire Department's Station 2 ramp to George & Lynch Inc. Monday night essentially by default Monday night when two other bidders dropped out of sight.

Dover-based George & Lynch Inc.'s bid of $85,823 was actually the highest of three bids submitted after bids were opened on Oct. 25, according to documents prepared by Dover Department of Public Works Director Sharon Duca.

However, Smyrna-based Kent Construction withdrew its $40,043.50 bid when company officials realized they had failed to include the material cost of concrete in their package, City Manager Scott Koenig said Monday night in City Hall. Thus, they requested that their bid be removed.

The second lowest bidder, Donald E. Reisinger Inc. in West Chester, Pa., did not meet all the requirements of the bid specifications proposed by the fire company and was found to be unresponsive, Koenig said.

"Therefore, the only bid that was submitted and can be evaluated for consideration is the bid by George & Lynch," Koenig said. "The total amount of the bid was $85,823. The budget for this project is $111,925."

All of the money would be reimbursed by the Delaware Department of Transportation's Community Transportation Funds, Koenig said.

The fire department, still known colloquially as the Robbins Hose Fire Co., had requested a ramp enhancement at its Walker Road and Dover-Kenton Road location in order to give it more maneuverability with its fire apparatuses, he said. The Dover Fire Department worked with the Dover Department of Public Works and state legislators to pursue the bid process.

City Councilman Adam Perza asked if the city could ask for an amended bid from Kent C.

Koenig said the city's attorney would advise against that.

"You can't ask them to submit a bid now that the numbers are public," he said. "We have three bids. Only one of them is responsive at this point."

After the meeting, Koenig told the Dover Post he did not consider the awarding of the bid to George & Lynch a matter of default. He was comfortable going with George & Lynch, which had performed work for the city before.

George & Lynch, located off Lafferty Lane, serves the Mid Atlantic region. It has been "American owned and operated since 1923."